Chapter Five: The Name On The Screen

{Mira’s POV}

The room went silent. Dead silent. I stared at David as the voicemail ended. “You promised you would use your wife’s family money to save him. “The words echoed through my head again and again. David looked frozen. Caught. Exposed.

For the first time since I met him, he had no explanation. No excuse. No carefully prepared lie. Just fear. Raw fear. And pretentce. Slowly, I removed his hands from my arms. Every touch from him suddenly felt wrong. Every memory felt poisoned. Every smile. Every promise. Every “I love you.” All of it. A lie.

“Mira.

“Don’t.”My voice came out cold. Colder than I had ever sounded before.

David swallowed. You need to let me explain.”

Explain what?” I laughed bitterly. “Explain why you married me? Explain why sarah my cousin knew secrets I didn’t? Explain why I walked down the aisle while sarah whispered behind my back?”

His jaw tightened. “It’s not what you think.”

“Then tell me what it is.”

David opened his mouth. Then closed it. The hesitation was enough. My heart shattered all over again. “Oh my God.”The realization hit me. “You targeted me.”His eyes widened. I stepped backward. “You knew exactly who I was.”

“Mira

“You knew about my family’s shares.” Silence. Terrible silence.I felt sick. The Anderson family wasn’t just wealthy. They were powerful. Everyone knew that. My grandfather had built one of the largest companies in the country. And months ago, news broke that a huge transfer of family shares would eventually pass down to the next generation. Including me.

David looked away. That was my answer. Tears burned my eyes. “You knew.”

“No.”

You knew!”

His silence screamed louder than any confession. The room becomes blurry to me. Suddenly every moment of our relationship felt suspicious. The expensive gifts. The perfect timing. The proposal. The promises. Had any of it been real? Or had I simply been an investment? A shortcut to power? A doorway into the Anderson fortune?

David, nods his head, baby all this your saying I’m not away of it Please all this is trying to spoil our marriage. You over heard her saying I promised to use your money for her son’s treatment that's a way of pushing you to get upset, so you can leave the marriage. She knew that you were listening.

You are a born lair David. How could you lie somuch without any remorse?

The knock on the suite door came again. Harder this time. “Mr. David Cole!” David flinched. I noticed immediately. And so did my instincts. Fear. He was terrified. Not worried. Terrified.

Why? What was he hiding now? The phone in his hand buzzed again. Another message. Another unknown number. Before he could stop it, the screen lit up. A text preview appeared.

MIRA CAN’T FIND OUT ABOUT THE DOCUMENTS.

My blood ran cold. Documents? What documents? David quickly locked the phone. Too late. I had already seen it. What documents?” His face paled.

“Mira.

“What documents?”

“It’s nothing.”

I laughed. Actually laughed. The sound frightened even me. “Nothing?” I pointed at him. “That’s exactly what you said about every lie you’ve told.”

The door shook under another knock. “Mr. Cole, open the door immediately.” My heartbeat quickened. David wasn’t moving. Why wasn’t he opening it? What was outside that scared him more than losing me?

Then his phone rang again. This time the caller ID appeared. Sarah. I stared at the screen. David immediately declined the call. A second later she called again. And again. And again. Something was very wrong. Finally a text arrived. David read it. His face lost all color.

“What?”

He didn’t answer. I stepped closer. What happened? Silence. Then another message arrived. This time I saw enough. Just enough. Three words. She’s missing. The air left my lungs.

“Who’s missing?” David looked horrified.

“Mira.

“ WHO IS MISSING?”

For several seconds he couldn’t speak. Then he whispered: “Sarah.” My stomach dropped. What happened? The room suddenly felt colder. Another text appeared. David read it.

Something felt wrong. She keeps calling. Why was she calling him so desperately? David cursed under his breath and silenced the phone. A text message arrived almost immediately. I saw him read it. His face darkened. Not with fear. With frustration.

“What?” I demanded.

“It’s nothing.”

I laughed bitterly. “Nothing? That’s your favorite answer.” David rubbed his forehead.

“Sarah is being dramatic.” The phone buzzed again. Another message. Then another. Finally, I caught a glimpse of the screen before he locked it. Answer me. Why aren’t you picking up? You can’t ignore me forever.

My chest tightened. The messages weren’t from someone in danger. They sounded like someone desperate for attention. Someone who wanted David focused on her. Not his wife. Not on our honeymoon. On her.

I looked at him slowly. “Why is she doing this?” David remained silent. That silence told me everything. Before I could press further, another loud knock came from the suite door. Bang. Bang. Bang. I jumped.

David looked irritated. The knock came again. “Sir, room service.” Both of us froze. Room service? I frowned. David hadn’t ordered anything. Neither had I. Another knock followed. “Room service, ma’am.”

Without waiting for David, I walked toward the door.

“Mira, wait.”

I ignored him. My hand closed around the handle. Then I pulled the door open. A young hotel employee stood outside pushing a silver food cart.

“Good evening, ma’am. Complimentary honeymoon package.”

I stared at him. For a moment, I almost laughed. After everything that had happened tonight, the universe was still trying to congratulate us on our marriage. How ironic. The employee smiled politely before leaving. I closed the door. The suite became silent again. Painfully silent.

I stood there for several seconds, staring at the closed door. The room service dropped a bottle of champagne. Chocolate covered strawberries. Fresh flowers. Everything looked perfect. Like the honeymoon suite of two people hopelessly in love.

Not two strangers standing in the middle of a marriage that was already falling apart. Slowly, I turned around. David was watching me. His eyes were filled with worry. Or maybe guilt. At this point, I wasn’t sure there was a difference.

Neither of us spoke. The silence between us felt heavy. Painful. Like a third person standing in the room. Waiting. Judging. Reminding me of every lie I had discovered tonight. I glanced at the wedding ring on my finger. Only a few hours ago, that ring had meant forever. Now it felt like a chain.

A beautiful chain built from secrets. David took a cautious step toward me.

“Mira.

I immediately stepped back. His face fell. The hurt in his eyes would have affected me before. Not anymore. “You should rest,” he said quietly. I stared at him in disbelief.

“Rest?” My voice cracked. “How exactly do you expect me to rest after everything I’ve learned tonight?” David lowered his gaze. For once, he had no answer. I wrapped my arms around myself. Trying to stop the shaking. Trying to stop the tears threatening to return. I felt exhausted. Mentally. Emotionally. Physically.

As if years had passed since I walked down the aisle, this morning. A part of me wanted to leave. To book the first flight home. To run straight into my mother’s arms and pretend none of this had happened. But another part of me needed answers. Needed the truth. No matter how ugly it was.

Because I had a horrible feeling that tonight wasn’t the end. It was only the beginning. And whatever David was still hiding. Was much worse than what I already knew. The suite fell silent again. The city lights glowed through the giant windows.

Somewhere outside, people laughed. Cars moved through the streets. Life continued normally. While mine was slowly falling apart. Then suddenly. My own phone started ringing.

I frowned. David looked up instantly. The screen lit up in my hand. My heart stopped. My blood ran cold. The caller’s name flashed across the screen.

Sarah.

I stared at it. Shock flooding through me. Why was she calling me? Not David. Me. The phone continued ringing. Once. Twice. Three times. David’s face had gone pale. And somehow, that terrified me even more. I slowly looked from the screen to my husband. Then back to the screen. Sarah was calling me.

But why?